Bound and Determined
by kabensi
Summary: Faith's free. But did anyone bother to tell her Buffy died? - Takes place at the end of season five.
1. Breakout

*THWAP* *THWAP* *THWAPTHWAPTHWAPTHWAPTHWAPTHWAPTHWAPTHWAP*  
  
Faith wiped the sweat off her brow.  
  
*THWAPTHWAP*  
  
The lean muscular woman holding the punching bag motioned for her to stop. "Damn, Spencer! Give me a break for a minute."  
  
Faith relented. "Oh, sure. Sorry, Mona."  
  
She pulled a pack of Lucky Strikes out of her pocket and leaned against the chain link fence. As she lit the cigarette, the slayer glanced around the prison yard. Her eyes closed, she took the first drag of nicotine, her mind wandering outside the cement block walls and razor wire.  
  
Thoughts drifted in and out, but somehow they always managed to end up in one place, one town, with the one reason she ever ended up where she was right now instead of turning up dead or strung out or just screwed up. Sure, prison wasn't the ideal place to grow and learn, but at least she'd made peace with herself. But what _about_ Buffy? Faith thought about sending some kind of apology, a note, a letter, a dirty limerick... something, anything... but every time she wrote anything, it just ended up in a shoe box on a shelf in her cell.  
  
"All right ladies, play time's over." A guard herded the women inmates out of the yard. Faith took one final puff then tossed the butt on the ground.  
  
-  
  
Dear Buffy,  
  
The pencil scratched into the surface of the yellow legal pad.  
  
I know you probably don't even want to hear from me, but I-  
  
  
  
  
  
Suddenly, something shook the building. Faith glanced out the bars of her cell to see several guards running across the main floor. An alarm began to sound. The cell doors opened and guards began hurrying the inmates down the catwalk.  
  
  
  
Faith fell in line with the other women. "What's going on?"  
  
"Shut up! Keep it moving!"  
  
As they moved everyone onto the main floor, something burst through the ceiling. It had a thirty-foot leathery wingspan and giant razor sharp teeth. The beast swooped down, heading right for one of the guards. Faith tackled the woman just in time and rolled her into a corner. More creatures crashed through walls, showering the women with brick and metal. The guards seemed to have taken off, leaving the inmates trapped inside.  
  
The brunette glanced around for some method of escape and spotted a large hole in the far wall. She motioned for others to follow her as she made a break for it.  
  
Outside, the prison grounds were in ruins. All kinds of creatures that Faith had never even imagined were hellraising left and right. A large demon on a motorcycle revved his engine began to race in her direction. Faith picked up a six foot metal pole, and sidestepped the bike as she stuck the pole in the spokes of the bike, flipping it over and causing an explosion.  
  
Then, as quickly as everything had started, it stopped. Silence. The demons were gone, but the damage remained. Inmates frantically made their way to the torn down barrier fences. The prison resembled a LEGO project someone had stepped on and then lit on fire.  
  
And then, for some inexplicable reason, Faith threw up. 


	2. Midnight at the Oasis

There had to be something soon. She had walked at least five miles. Where did people stop to get gas when they were visiting people in prison? Maybe she had gone the wrong way.  
  
Even in just her white tank top, she was getting a little warm. Summer was definitely on the way. She reached into her pants pocket and pulled out her Lucky Strikes.  
  
She sighed to herself. "Only five left. There'd better be something up ahead." She glanced over at the girl across the road. They had both escaped from the penitentiary, but hadn't spoken. Yet. "Gotta light?"  
  
The girl nodded and moved across the pavement, falling in step with the slayer. She adjusted her glasses then handed Faith a book of matches.  
  
Faith graciously accepted. "Thanks."  
  
"Keep 'em."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Yeah." The girl looked at her for a moment.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Oh. N-nothing. You just kind of remind me of someone." The girl extended her hand. "I'm Justice."  
  
"Faith." They shook. "So, what're you in for?"  
  
"I, uh, well... International jewel thievery."  
  
"That's fun." Faith hesitated. "I killed someone. Well, not just one someone."  
  
"Oh." Justice eyed her warily.  
  
"But I don't do that anymore. At least not like that. I mean, I don't kill people."  
  
"I suppose that's a step."  
  
"Yeah, well I turned myself in."  
  
"Hey, me too!"  
  
A truck stop appeared on the horizon.  
  
Faith sucked on the end of her cigarette. "Looks like hope up ahead."  
  
-  
  
1-800-COLLECT Faith punched the numbers into the pay phone. She waited for the automated menu and then dialed Angel's number. No one answered.  
  
The Southie slayer plunked the phone down. Twelve quarters fell into the coin return. She fished them out and turned to the woman at the counter of the truck stop diner.  
  
"Your phone's payin' Vegas odds over here." She held out the quarters.  
  
The waitress shrugged. "Keep it."  
  
"In that case, I'll take two coffees. To go."  
  
"Two bucks."  
  
The woman handed her a styrofoam cup. Faith slapped the three dollars on the counter then headed outside.  
  
Justice sat on the curb, watching a burly trucker thump his tires. Faith handed her a cup of coffee.  
  
"Thanks." She took a careful sip. "You got anyone waiting for you? You know, when you get out?"  
  
"Not really. I mean, I've got one person to call and say, 'Hey, I'm out.' But they're not home."  
  
The burly trucker began walking toward the entrance to the diner. He caught Faith's eye and winked at her as he opened the door.  
  
Faith rolled her eyes. "Blech."  
  
Justice laughed. "You really remind me of someone. An ex, I guess."  
  
"You guess?" Faith smiled slightly and took a sip of her coffee. "How 'bout you? Someone waitin' for you with open arms?"  
  
"Yeah. He's great. A little goofy, but he's great."  
  
"Must be nice."  
  
Justice stood up and entered the truck stop. Faith pulled out one of her remaining four cigarettes then put it back. She wasn't sure how long the road was to wherever she was going and if there would be anyone to provide her with more smokes. Eyes closed, she leaned back against the wall and thought about what she was doing. She was supposed to be serving a sentence, but was she obligated to go back if hell demons had eaten the prison?  
  
She sighed. Hell demons or not, outside of prison she didn't have anywhere to go. She couldn't keep depending on Angel to support her and she wanted to get out on her own and make up for all of her past evil deeds.  
  
There was one giant, huge, monster problem. She could never go back to the one place she actually called home. Sunnydale just had too many memories. The mayor, the Scoobies, the Slayer... Buffy. Buffy hated her. But Faith had to go back and make things right. Even if Buffy just slammed the door in her face, she had to at least make the effort.  
  
A woman rushed out of the diner. The burly trucker was right behind her.  
  
"Come on, sweetie, I just wanted to talk to you."  
  
"Get away from me." The girl walked over to a minivan and hurriedly searched through her purse for the keys.  
  
The trucker moved in on the girl, blocking the car door. "I just wanted to ask you for your number, baby. Let's go inside."  
  
"Not interested!"  
  
The guy made a grab for her arm, causing the purse to drop and spill its contents onto the parking lot. He didn't get any further, because the next thing he knew, he was face down on the blacktop with someone's knee in his back.  
  
"I think she said something about 'no'." Faith grabbed his collar and yanked him to his feet.  
  
The trucker turned, expecting to see someone with a large amount of body mass, but instead saw Faith. He scoffed. Faith raised an eyebrow. The guy hesitated, then turned and walked back to his truck.  
  
Faith turned to the girl. "You okay?" For a moment, Faith was caught in the girl's eyes.  
  
The girl held the gaze for a moment, then broke away. "Uh, yeah. Thanks. Thank you."  
  
Faith glanced down at all the purse contents on the ground. She began to pick them up. "You might want this."  
  
"Oh geez. Thanks. I'm sorry, I'm so out of it. That was just really scary."  
  
"It happens."  
  
"Not where I'm from."  
  
"Where? Mayberry?"  
  
The girl laughed. "No. Glen Oak. It's kind of a small town." She looked up at Faith. "I'm Mary. Thanks for saving me from that creep."  
  
"Faith. And it's okay. It's kind of what I do."  
  
Justice exited the diner and approached the van. "Hey, I got a hold of someone. Did you want to ride with us? We're heading to Jersey."  
  
Faith shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm heading south."  
  
"I'm going that way. Did you want a ride?"  
  
"You don't have to. I mean, I can hitch..."  
  
"Because hopefully all those truckers are just as nice as that last guy? Look, I owe you."  
  
Faith turned to Justice who shrugged and then nodded. "Hey, go for it."  
  
The slayer threw her hands up in defeat. "You got me. Okay, I accept."  
  
Mary smiled and unlocked Faith's door. 


	3. Camdenmonium

DISCLAIMER: I realized that a lot of this dialogue is cheese-o-matic and full of blatant exposition. Welcome to Glen Oak.  
  
-  
  
The next sign read: Glen Oak - 10 miles  
  
The girl had been exchanging small talk for the last twenty minutes and had hit the topic of family.  
  
"So, all in all, there's seven of us kids, plus my ex-boyfriend who lives with us," explained Mary.  
  
"Your ex-boyfriend lives with you?" Faith was a bit confused. "But I thought your dad was a minister. He's okay with that?"  
  
"Yeah. My family is really weird sometimes. But they're nice, you'll like them."  
  
"I will? Am I planning on meeting them?"  
  
"Sure, why not? I figure you can have dinner with us, spend the night and then I'll take you to the bus station tomorrow morning."  
  
Faith wasn't sure what to make of Mary's accelerated hospitality. "Uh... okay."  
  
-  
  
Mary led Faith through the back door into the kitchen. A blonde woman was furiously moving about the room, making a large dinner.  
  
She turned to face the girls. "Hi, Mary. And friend."  
  
"Mom, this is Faith. Faith, this is my mom."  
  
Mary's mom, extended her hand, which was holding a tomato. She glanced at the tomato, put it on the counter and extended her hand again. "Please, call me Annie. Faith, that's such a pretty name."  
  
Faith awkwardly shook her hand. "Thanks... Annie."  
  
"Mom, is it okay if Faith stays for dinner?"  
  
"I don't see why not. You father is always bringing home random guests so why can't his children?"  
  
As Mary led Faith upstairs, a dark haired guy appeared on the top step.  
  
Mary glanced at him. "Oh, Robbie, this is Faith. She's staying for dinner. Faith, this is Robbie-"  
  
"Robbie Palmer?" Faith was astonished.  
  
Robbie was wide-eyed. "Faith? Faith Spencer? From Mrs. Hamilton's seventh grade history class?"  
  
They stared at each other for a beat, then engaged in a furious hug.  
  
-  
  
It was well after dinner and Faith was lying on Mary's bed, talking to Lucy, Mary's younger sister.  
  
"I still can't believe that you went to school with Robbie in Boston," raved Lucy.  
  
Mary entered with an armful of clothes. "Here. Try some of these."  
  
Faith dug through them for a moment, then pulled out a pair of leather pants. "How about these?"  
  
Lucy raised her eyebrows. "Does Dad know you have those?"  
  
Mary glared at her sister. "Take them."  
  
The youngest Camden daughter, Ruthie, bounded into the room. "Well, Dad called Sergeant Michaels and he said there's no record of you. Whatever that means."  
  
Faith nodded. "Thanks." No record of her in any criminal database. She had felt very strange asking the Reverend to help her look up that information, but he seemed very eager to help her.  
  
Ruthie wandered out of the room. The phone rang.  
  
Lucy dove for it and answered it before the first ring ended. "Hello?" She glanced at the other girls. "Hold on, let me call you back on the other phone." She hung up. "I have to take this in the den. It's important."  
  
Mary watched her sister leave and then shut the door behind her. "It's a boy. It always is. She's boy crazy."  
  
"Oh boy." Faith smirked.  
  
-  
  
END HORRIBLE DIALOGUE AND EXPOSITION... ALMOST  
  
-  
  
Faith stared out the bus window, thinking about where she had been and where she was going. The Camdens were a little off, but they were nice people. And Robbie... they had shared an in depth conversation about redemption and starting over.  
  
Starting over with a bus ticket bought by a reverend and his family, wearing some hand me down leather pants from a PK and a pocket full of cash on loan from a kid she hadn't seen since junior high. Who knew?  
  
-  
  
OKAY, NOW IT'S OVER. BACK TO THE DECENT STORYTELLING. 


	4. Love Don't Live Here Anymore

Faith cautiously shuffled along Revello Drive. Plagued with second thoughts, she took a deep breath and forced herself up the familiar walkway to the front door.  
  
It had been nearly a week since the prison break. Strange luck had brought her this far, but now it was up to her.  
  
She was shaking, nervous. What if Buffy just told her to "fuck off and go home"? But this was home. Or at leas the most home she'd had. She peeked in the living room window. A light was on, but was anybody home? She knocked again, wondering what to do if Buffy didn't answer.  
  
What if Joyce came to the door? She was prepared to face Buffy, but she hadn't put that much thought into what to say to Joyce. 'I'm sorry for holding you hostage and trying to kill you all while being a little bit kinky' didn't seem like a kosher way to lead into a conversation.  
  
Faith quickly began to reconsider her game plan. She took a step back from the door only to watch it swing open.  
  
"F-Faith?"  
  
"Tara?" The brunette hesitated. "Is, uh, Buffy home?"  
  
The witch looked at the ground for a moment. "Y-you should c-come inside."  
  
"Oh, I don't wanna intrude or anythi-"  
  
"It's okay. N-n-no one else is home." She ushered the slayer inside.  
  
The comfortable familiarity of the Summers' home was overwhelming. Faith made her way over to the living room sofa and sat down. Things were different, but it still felt like home.  
  
"Wow, did they redecorate or something?"  
  
"Oh, uh, W-Will and I live here now, too. With D-Dawnie."  
  
Dawn. Faith had almost forgotten about her. In fact she couldn't quite remember her face even though she knew that she had seen her before. "Dawn. How is she?"  
  
"Sh-she's... Um, F-Faith?" Tara sat down on the couch. "B-Buffy..."  
  
"Look, I totally understand if she doesn't want to see me. I just have to make some kind of an attempt. You know... steps to recovery."  
  
Tara was fighting back tears.  
  
Faith knew something wasn't right. "Oh god, what? Is she okay?"  
  
Then, clearly and stutter-free, Tara simply said it. "Buffy's dead."  
  
"What?" But Faith didn't need to hear it again. "She can't die. I didn't die. Give her time. She'll come back. She just needs time to recover. She'll be fine." Faith was pacing the living room.  
  
"She did it to save us. The world. Everything. She fell..."  
  
"I fell. I was stabbed and fell. And I came back. I didn't die. I DIDN'T." Faith collapsed to her knees. "She's not supposed to die. She's supposed to save the world."  
  
Tara made her way over to the dark slayer and knelt beside her. "She did." Without hesitation, she pulled the brunette into her arms and held her tightly. Faith didn't resist, but buried herself into the other girl, staining the Wiccan's blouse with her tears. They remained that was for a moment of eternity, the benevolent soul comforting the former rogue slayer.  
  
Then Faith pulled out of the embrace. "I want to see her."  
  
"O-okay. If that's w-what you want. They buried her next to her-" Tara paused, realizing that Faith wouldn't know about Joyce, either. "N-next to her m-m-m-mother."  
  
"Joyce?" Faith closed her eyes as the second blow hit her. "When?"  
  
"L-Last year. It was quick. P-Painless."  
  
The slayer kept her eyes closed, hoping that when she opened them, maybe, just maybe, she'd be back in her cell, waking up from this strange and horrible reality. But she was still here, faced with the truth and a tearful Tara standing in front of her.  
  
"I want to see her."  
  
-  
  
Tara led Faith past row after row of tombstones until they came to the Summers' women.  
  
"I-I-I-I can leave you a-alone."  
  
Faith just nodded. As the Wiccan headed toward the edge of the cemetery, the brunette crouched in front of the Chosen One's grave.  
  
"So... this is it, huh, B? Life's a bitch, you save the world, and then you die." She absently wiped at her eyes. "I was the reckless one. The dangerous one. The evil one. It should be me under there." She paused. "Fuck, B, if you wanted to teach me a lesson, you could have just kicked my ass... again." She laughed in spite of herself. "You always had an edge on me. One step ahead, every time." The Southie slayer kicked at the ground. "Dammit, Buffy."  
  
Faith's eulogy was cut short as a scream pierced through the graveyard. Tara was furiously running her direction, an angry vamp closing in behind her. The slayer pulled the witch behind her and slammed her fist into the vampire's face, sending him flying into an old wooden park bench. The bench broke apart under the forced weight of the undead beast. The vamp lunged at Faith and tackled her to the ground.  
  
Tara ran over to the broken bench and grabbed a shard of wood. "Faith!"  
  
She tossed the makeshift stake to the slayer, who plunged it into the heart of the demon. Seconds later Faith pulled herself up out of the dust.  
  
"I see you've been through Scooby training." Faith shook off the dust. "Thanks."  
  
"No p-problem."  
  
Faith glanced around the cemetery. "We should get out of here. There might be more lurking around and I'm not in the mood to socialize."  
  
The girls headed toward the gates. The slayer subconsciously kept herself on alert for any more demons, but she really didn't feel like fighting. This time there had been no sudden rush of adrenaline, no surge of power. She was just too empty inside. 


	5. Where Do We Go From Here?

Faith sat on the couch, staring at the TV. She wasn't even really sure what she was watching, but it was a much needed distraction. She didn't want to think about anything else at the moment.

Tara entered the living room, setting a blanket and pillow next to Faith.

"Are you sure it's okay? I mean, I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable."

"It's fine," Tara assured her. "Besides, Dawn's at her dad's and Willow went to tell Angel about... well, anyway, it'd be nice to have someone else in the house."

Faith nodded. "Okay." She directed her attention back to the television.

Tara headed toward the stairs.

"Tara?"

The blonde turned to face the slayer. "Yeah?"

"Thank you."

The witch gave her a half smile and exited the room.

-

Faith woke up a few hours later to a dark room. As her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, she remembered that she was not in her cell, but in Buffy's living room.

Something creaked on the porch. Faith's slayer senses shifted into high gear, recalling the Tara said no one else would be home tonight. She peeked out the window. There was a figure moving up the porch, but not enough light to distinguish what it might be. If it was a vampire, it didn't matter, since it would have to be invited in.

The doorknob jiggled. Faith slipped up off the couch and hid around the corner. The door opened and the figure moved inside. As it headed toward the stairs, Faith tackled the form, pinning it to the ground. By now Faith could tell it was human... and a woman. The slayer was about to let the girl up, but the mystery woman uttered a few words and Faith found herself being flung across the floor by an invisible force.

The figure jumped to her feet and started up the stairs. "Tara?!"

Faith pulled herself up. "Red?" She flipped on the light switch.

Willow stopped midway up the stairs and turned. "Faith?" Her eyes widened. She rushed up the stairs. "TARA?!"

Faith followed her. "She's fine. She's sleeping."

Tara stepped out into the hall. "Was sleeping."

Willow embraced her girlfriend. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, sweetie." Tara reassured the redhead. "Everything's okay."

"She's supposed to be in jail." Willow turned to Faith. "You're supposed to be in jail."

"I know." The slayer leaned against the wall. "I don't know what happened, exactly. All I really remember is some big nasty hell beasts breaking though the concrete and everyone ran. I even had a friend run a check for me, but my record's gone. I don't know how, but it's gone."

"Hell creatures broke you out of prison? That's a good one." Willow thought a moment. "Actually, it is good. Since someone did open a portal to a hell dimension recently."

Faith began sliding down the wall. "That's when it happened, isn't it?   
That's when she... she..." Tears slipped down her cheeks.  
  
"Oh. Oh no." Willow kneeled down beside her. "We... she did it because she had to. It was for us. And for Dawnie."  
  
"...Dawn..." Faith muttered between sobs. The poor kid had lost a mother and a sister. And all that after she'd been held hostage and threatened death by someone who had once been a close family friend. She mentally kicked herself, once again, for her past actions. "I'm sorry," she mumbled to herself. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."


End file.
